just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

I guess I'm cranky tonight and will regret this in the morning, but I'm sick & tired of watching all these great deals go to new customers while the returning customers pay more for their phone upgrade PLUS the added joy of a 30 upgrade fee. So in the case of the phone I am interested in a new customer gets it for 0.01 and I get it for 49.99 + 30 fee for 79.99 . . . This is the thanks I get for being a return customer; thank you verizon. End rant (no I don't feel better).

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by revtech

I guess I'm cranky tonight and will regret this in the morning, but I'm sick & tired of watching all these great deals go to new customers while the returning customers pay more for their phone upgrade PLUS the added joy of a 30 upgrade fee. So in the case of the phone I am interested in a new customer gets it for 0.01 and I get it for 49.99 + 30 fee for 79.99 . . . This is the thanks I get for being a return customer; thank you verizon. End rant (no I don't feel better).

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by Ry

Is this through Verizon or an indirect?

In this case it is through an indirect, but from time to time verizon does it as well. It probably wouldn't be as odious if they didn't tack on the upgrade fee, which is definitely verizon's call. I get it that they want to attract new customers, but to hit current customers with a fee just seems wrong. Its true new customers are supposed to pay an activation fee, but that is easy to get waived if you whine enough, but there seems to be no budging on the upgrade fees.
Used to be upgrade was free, then it was subsidized minus 50, then it was subsidized, now its subsidized and *we* pay 30 . . . of course I used to be able to fill my car with gas for $10 too =)
I know if I wanted to be snarky I'd say, "geez, get over it" but I guess its just bugging me for some reason. It's probably the price of the phone, if it were 200 the extra 30 doesn't seem to bother me, but since its 50 the extra 30 seems like alot. Go figure :/

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

The extra $30 upgrade fee bothered me when I paid $200 for my phone. It seems silly to pay for the privilege of signing a contract, despite what VZW claims the fee goes for. And yes, everyone else has the fee, and it's even more with some other carriers, so it's a "bargain".

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by mesocyclonic

The extra $30 upgrade fee bothered me when I paid $200 for my phone. It seems silly to pay for the privilege of signing a contract, despite what VZW claims the fee goes for. And yes, everyone else has the fee, and it's even more with some other carriers, so it's a "bargain".

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by revtech

In this case it is through an indirect, but from time to time verizon does it as well. It probably wouldn't be as odious if they didn't tack on the upgrade fee, which is definitely verizon's call. I get it that they want to attract new customers, but to hit current customers with a fee just seems wrong. Its true new customers are supposed to pay an activation fee, but that is easy to get waived if you whine enough, but there seems to be no budging on the upgrade fees.
Used to be upgrade was free, then it was subsidized minus 50, then it was subsidized, now its subsidized and *we* pay 30 . . . of course I used to be able to fill my car with gas for $10 too =)
I know if I wanted to be snarky I'd say, "geez, get over it" but I guess its just bugging me for some reason. It's probably the price of the phone, if it were 200 the extra 30 doesn't seem to bother me, but since its 50 the extra 30 seems like alot. Go figure :/

Talking to people I know that have recently upgraded, only one in five wasn't able to get the upgrade fee waived. That person has only been a Verizon customer for 23 months prior. All others have been Verizon customers for more than four years.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by revtech

I guess I'm cranky tonight and will regret this in the morning, but I'm sick & tired of watching all these great deals go to new customers while the returning customers pay more for their phone upgrade PLUS the added joy of a 30 upgrade fee. So in the case of the phone I am interested in a new customer gets it for 0.01 and I get it for 49.99 + 30 fee for 79.99 . . . This is the thanks I get for being a return customer; thank you verizon. End rant (no I don't feel better).

This only applies to indirect dealers. The pricing directly through Verizon is the same for new and old customers. As far as the $30 upgrade fee, new customers pay $35 per phone for activation. Every other cellular company charges a fee similar and it's higher for upgrades.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Do I just bargain with a rep in a verizon store and tell them I don't want to pay the fee?

Originally Posted by Ry

Talking to people I know that have recently upgraded, only one in five wasn't able to get the upgrade fee waived. That person has only been a Verizon customer for 23 months prior. All others have been Verizon customers for more than four years.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by Ry

It's probably one of the easiest fees to get waived too.

I did this for my niece and sister. Verizon credited their account a month of data each at $29.99. Ask for the customer loyalty/retention department. I explained why the fee was a bunch of crap and they did this.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by Ry

It's probably one of the easiest fees to get waived too.

Can you elaborate on how you were able to do this so easily? You're talking about the $30 upgrade fee, right?

I tried chatting online. They said 'corporate won't allow them'. So I chatted on the phone. I told them I was a loyal customer, that we've been using Verizon ever since we got phones, that we recently upgraded 2 phones to smartphones and are now paying an extra $60/month, that we're considering upgrading all phones in the near future, etc etc. I was courteous, but when that didn't work I played the irate customer. I was on the phone with them for a good 10 minutes, and they didn't budge. She just said "we are not allowed to! That's a non-negotiable fee!"

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by jrwatson

Can you elaborate on how you were able to do this so easily? You're talking about the $30 upgrade fee, right?

I tried chatting online. They said 'corporate won't allow them'. So I chatted on the phone. I told them I was a loyal customer, that we've been using Verizon ever since we got phones, that we recently upgraded 2 phones to smartphones and are now paying an extra $60/month, that we're considering upgrading all phones in the near future, etc etc. I was courteous, but when that didn't work I played the irate customer. I was on the phone with them for a good 10 minutes, and they didn't budge. She just said "we are not allowed to! That's a non-negotiable fee!"

One that happened in-store told me they did exactly what you tried to do. One was upgrading two lines at the same time and also mentioned how long they were with Verizon and how they have never ever had a late payment.

I'm pretty sure the other went the same route, but I know they only upgraded on one line.

Two others called in later after hearing about getting the fee waived and had a similar conversation with whoever they were talking to. Not sure if they were escalated up the chain.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Thanks! Did any of them occur fairly recently? I'm wondering if they got overloaded with similar complaints, and corporate finally did 'prevent CS from waiving fees' lol. I pulled every card except threatening to switch carriers, and I told them I knew the fee could be waived. Oh well, there goes $60. Maybe I'll call again tomorrow .

Originally Posted by Ry

One that happened in-store told me they did exactly what you tried to do. One was upgrading two lines at the same time and also mentioned how long they were with Verizon and how they have never ever had a late payment.

I'm pretty sure the other went the same route, but I know they only upgraded on one line.

Two others called in later after hearing about getting the fee waived and had a similar conversation with whoever they were talking to. Not sure if they were escalated up the chain.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Originally Posted by jrwatson

Thanks! Did any of them occur fairly recently? I'm wondering if they got overloaded with similar complaints, and corporate finally did 'prevent CS from waiving fees' lol. I pulled every card except threatening to switch carriers, and I told them I knew the fee could be waived. Oh well, there goes $60. Maybe I'll call again tomorrow .

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Since this a "just wanted to get this off my chest" thread, let's turn this into a "what did Verizon do to **** us off" thread lol.

I ordered my phone on Wednesday, but noticed it was $50 at Target. So literally less than an hour later, I called to cancel the order--should have been no problem right? The guy assured me it wouldn't ship out, I wouldn't have to pay restocking fees, that my upgrade would reset in a couple days, etc.

Soooo FFW to a couple days later--guess what comes in the mail? My phone. Guy didn't do crap, nothing reflects that the order was ever cancelled. In fact, there doesn't even seem to be a way to check the status of an order. Even though Verizon sends the billing statement to the email address it's linked to, it never once sent out shipping confirmations or order confirmations for anything we've purchased--we're just left in the dark. Not going to screw around for $50 returning it and likely paying a restocking fee for their error, but this is so typical of Verizon.

I tried to negotiate the $30 upgrade fee again, and they were still pissy about how it's 'non-negotiable'.

Re: just wanted to get this off my chest . . .

Holy christ. So I open the package because I assume the cancellation never went through--we never received any email updates or order confirmations, so how was I to know anything different? At 3 today, some guy from Fedex comes up and wants the phone back.. I had already opened the box and everything.

Spent half an hour on the phone with Verizon, only for them to tell me I'm likely going to be charged a restocking fee for opening the damn box. How was I to know someone was going to walk up and claim the phone back? They never even sent me an order confirmation when I ordered the thing, they never sent me a shipping confirmation when it shipped out, they never sent me a cancellation confirmation, they never told me some guy was coming to our house to pick up the box they delivered just a couple hours prior.

Now I have to wait a *week* for my upgrade to reset. And pay a $30 restocking fee for their blunder.